Saturday, August 5, 2017

When I was growing up I spent a lot of money on action figures but as I shifted from the role of kid to adult I had less interest and less money than in my younger days. Now that I'm settled into the role of adult, and father, I can start to buy some of the cooler action figures that are out now. I remember when NECA released the original Mirage Comics TMNT line, I loved them immediately and wanted to get them but they had sold out quickly and they were already selling on the internet at a decent markup. I wish I could go back in time and pay those prices. For anyone out there that sees something that they like, I always say buy it because it's always going to cost more years later.

Anyway, I was in my local comic/toy/game shop and was nosing around without any one thing I was looking for. I really hadn't found something that I wanted had just about decided to leave when I spotted the TMNT action figures. I passed them before because I'm no fan of the new TMNT movies and while I like the new Nickelodeon show I haven't really collected any of their figures. Of course, anything good wasn't for sale, it was just the garbage figures that usually become expensive years later because nobody bought them when they came out. I started to check the shelves to see if they had a Donatello, my favorite turtle when I found this April.

She was released by NECA as a 2009 Comic Con Exclusive. She was the only one that I could find anywhere in the shop and she was completely pushed to the back of the rack in a corner of the shop. She was listed for less than what she was typically going for on eBay so I decided to get her but truthfully unless she was way more expensive than eBay's prices I would still have brought her home. When I checked out the two guys working there thought she was neat and didn't know that they even had her. That's probably good for me because I'm sure if they knew they had her she would have cost more.

This April O'Neil is from the original Mirage comic books with her job as a lab assistant for Baxter Stockman. Her likeness is dead on from the comics.

Since the original comic books were in black and white there had been many discussions as to what race she was. Of course, the 80's cartoon depicted her as white but she was usually considered to be African American. I personally thought she was Hispanic but NECA gave her a dusky skin color which I think is a great compromise.

April has 14 points of articulation which isn't bad but compared to the NECA Turtles she's a bit stiff. She doesn't have any accessories for herself but she does come with two mousers which were created by Baxter Stockman. One is intact with his mouth able to be opened and closed. The second mouser is broken with his leg knocked off, his mouth also can be opened and closed.

For the most part, I was happy with my purchase with my only complaints being April's stiffness and the price. Even though for the most part, April is not too hard to find she does start around $35 dollars which isn't horrible but I wouldn't have been sad if she was cheaper.